Hearing from the Kennedy School?

[MCneelified06]

No one should give up on the HKS waitlist. They are giving MPP admits til this Monday to respond if they haven't already (even though the deadline has passed). I suspect their yield will be higher than average this year, but I bet a good chunk of people will get off the waitlist.

P.S. I wouldn't have even been able to afford the HKS required deposit to enroll ($750)...

[anxiouslywaiting]

Thanks for the input younglions and MCNeelified. I wonder if the extended deadline means a longer wait for the waitlisters too (they originally said they would respond by this upcoming Friday.)

[undersec]

No one should give up on the HKS waitlist. They are giving MPP admits til this Monday to respond if they haven't already (even though the deadline has passed). I suspect their yield will be higher than average this year, but I bet a good chunk of people will get off the waitlist.

P.S. I wouldn't have even been able to afford the HKS required deposit to enroll ($750)...

This is an excellent assessment of the situation IMO. According to this article, MPP applications were up 34% this year:

http://www.boston.com/news/education/hi ... ?page=full

If they accept fewer kids than a normal year (say 300 instead of 350), this would prevent them from overfilling the class. Their admissions rate would drop and their yield would rise a bit, but they could have more spots than usual for kids off the waitlist.

[anxiouslywaiting]

I'm a little confused as to why the rise in apps would lead them to accept fewer people than usual. Because they assume they will have a higher yield than before due to the increased interest? But they may have miscalculated? Which may be reflected in the extended deadline as they did not receive as many responses as expected?

[anxiouslywaiting]

For the information of those on the HKS waitlist, I was told today (by someone on the Admissions staff) that Kennedy will definitely NOT be meeting their prior deadline of responding to waitlisted applicants by May 1. They said it would "surely be after May 1", but did not specify any further. On the one hand, it is unfortunate to have to wait longer. On the other hand, if they were already positive they were not going to accept people off of the WL, they would not need the extra time to figure things out - so that may be a good sign. At least I don't have to check my email obsessively until next week!

[fighter_2008]

i'm taking comfort more in the fact that this thread has all but died down indicating a lack of interest from both HKS admits and waitlisters which I hope will somehow translate to vacancies for both anxiouslywaiting and me. oh well, more wishful thinking again eh?

[sisepuede]

fighter and anxious, it's still totally possible!!

i don't have any inside intel or anything, but hey, you've made it this far! might as well stay hopeful. i've been pretty out of gradcafe land since April 15, when my household switched to "agony over law school waitlists" mode for my husband. i know it's painful to wait for hks and others in our field, but look at what the yale law waitlisters have. this blogpost from the admissions dean with advice for waitlisted folks is intended to be funny...but damn.

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... alker.aspx

[anxiouslywaiting]

Wow. That blog is pretty intense. Well at least they gave them very concrete advice about how to approach the waitlist process. I have been left in limbo wondering if I should be trying to send new materials, references, stay in touch with admissions, etc. But my SO actually dealt with the WL process too and ended up being accepted, so I know it's possible, although he was in a very different program (PhD in the sciences at MIT - hence why I did not just forget about HKS and enroll at Georgetown or SAIS).

As for HKS, I am keeping my fingers crossed for an update next Monday, since that will be one week after their extended deadline, and the last promised update was to be one week after the original deadline.

[fighter_2008]

OMG. I got off the HKS waitlist!!! woohoo!

[Cornell07]

OMG. I got off the HKS waitlist!!! woohoo!

Huge congrats!

[zourah]

OMG. I got off the HKS waitlist!!! woohoo!

so will you be joining us? welcome!

[Sroek]

Anybody doing the International and Global Affairs concentration?

[zourah]

Anybody doing the International and Global Affairs concentration?

yup.

[anxiouslywaiting]

I GOT IN TOO!!!!!!!! I am so incredibly happy!!!!!!!!

[zourah]

I GOT IN TOO!!!!!!!! I am so incredibly happy!!!!!!!!

hooray! (and join the MPP '11 facebook group!)

[Gatsby]

I am also on the waiting list, hoping to get in.... How did you hear from KSG? By email? by phone?

[younglions]

I GOT IN TOO!!!!!!!! I am so incredibly happy!!!!!!!!

Awesome. Does this mean you'll be heading to Boston? Congratulations!

[fighter_2008]

I am also on the waiting list, hoping to get in.... How did you hear from KSG? By email? by phone?

I heard via email on Apr 30. Very sudden but was pleasantly surprised. Boston here I come!

[sisepuede]

congratulations to the boston-bound! it's always good to hear happy endings.

[fighter_2008]

Thanks sisepuede! The wait is finally over and now tying up all the administrative details... See you all in Boston this fall

[don]

Did any1 else from the waitlist get aid? I got a $20K Kennedy grant

[younglions]

Did any1 else from the waitlist get aid? I got a $20K Kennedy grant

Wow, Don, that is great news. However, I must say, the fact that a wait listed candidate gets money over initial admits does bother me. If many of the prominent posters on this board had received that offer, they would have taken their places at Kennedy. Moreover, it seems to me that those first-round admits who actually accepted their offer are probably more deserving of the cash. I think this is a fault in Harvard's admissions department--they're obviously not offering enough money to their first round of admits. I hope you don't take this as personal criticism; it's squarely directed at the HKS admissions team. Also, the fact that wait listed candidates are receiving financial offers suggests that HKS got a much lower-than-expected yield and are now struggling to fill the class.

Regardless, congrats on the great offer!

[zourah]

Wow, Don, that is great news. However, I must say, the fact that a wait listed candidate gets money over initial admits does bother me. If many of the prominent posters on this board had received that offer, they would have taken their places at Kennedy. Moreover, it seems to me that those first-round admits who actually accepted their offer are probably more deserving of the cash. I think this is a fault in Harvard's admissions department--they're obviously not offering enough money to their first round of admits. I hope you don't take this as personal criticism; it's squarely directed at the HKS admissions team. Also, the fact that wait listed candidates are receiving financial offers suggests that HKS got a much lower-than-expected yield and are now struggling to fill the class.

Regardless, congrats on the great offer!

Thanks, younglions. I felt that saying it aloud might come off as too bitter, myself. Don, I'm glad for you. I'm just confused as to the financial aid criteria at play (and yes, a little bitter at my all-loans offer).

[OD09]

I believe these are need-based grants. HKS barely offers any merit-based scholarships. Lots of students are deferring from Kennedy for a year, which may be freeing up previously committed need-based funds. I deferred matriculation to HKS to pursue some research abroad and I know some friends are doing the same.

[younglions]

I believe these are need-based grants. HKS barely offers any merit-based scholarships. Lots of students are deferring from Kennedy for a year, which may be freeing up previously committed need-based funds. I deferred matriculation to HKS to pursue some research abroad and I know some friends are doing the same.

This would make more sense, however I imagine that most Kennedy admits have a ton of unmet financial need. For example, as a a Peace Corps volunteer from a very modest background, I have a mountain of need, but Harvard offered me half of what they offered Don. I'm not trying to say Don isn't deserving of the award--I have no idea what sort of background s/he has--but the very fact that Harvard admitted someone like zourah in the first round indicates they view him/her as a better fit for the program. If additional funds have opened up, I think they should award those who accepted first round offers. I am just confused about the thinking of HKS' financial aid office, that's all. There's a good chance that I'm missing something, and my criticism is completely unwarranted.